Blog #601: Once Upon a Time

NINE. The number was never my goal. Ten years ago… I wasn’t even thinking of doing ONE. ______ I just did it. I finished walking across my 9th country. To me, it’s a somewhat crazy accomplishment. But here’s my list: 1. Spain: St. Jean Pied de Port to Finisterre, Spain (500 miles) 2. Portugal: Lisbon to Finistere, Spain (360 miles) 3. England: coast-to-coast: (85 miles) 4. Ireland: Dublin to Cork to Dingle to Limerick (275 miles) 5. Japan (Shikoku) (750 miles) 6. Italy: Milan to Rome (375 miles) 7. France: Ley Puy to St. Jean Pied de Port (465 miles) 8. Spain: Northern route (200 miles) 9. Scotland: Helensburgh to Dunbar (135 miles) That’s a lot of miles in sneakers. ______ My first long-distance walk was at age 52. It was sparked after reading a book about a guy who walked a long walk. Previously… Twice…I had successfully pedaled a bike solo, coast-to-coast across the United States and LOVED the accomplishment of that…so when my brain started whispering to me the long walk idea, I thought: “Let’s DO the long-distance thing ONCE in sneakers!” ______ But isn’t that how ONCE works? 1. The woman who found the courage to go line dancing ONCE… and now has been dancing twice-a-week for ten years. 2. The guy who never thought he’d like golf, but tried it ONCE… and now plays every weekend and is hooked for a lifetime. 3. The “non-traveler” who was talked into going on a cruise ONCE… and now has completed 20+ cruises. 4. The woman who’d never planted a tomato plant, but tried it ONCE… and now loves gardening so much she has even graduated to building her own Redwood planter boxes for trees. 5. The woman who liked to HOLD the book was asked to try a Kindle ONCE… and now she reads 10x MORE books than before. The TRYING something ONCE thing is a HUGE deal. ______ Look… I’m 60…and still find massive disbelief in THAT number. So I say this without hesitation. I say it as if I’m on a mission to reveal one of life’s BIGGEST secrets. Find your ONCE. Live your ONCE. Love your ONCE. 100 times. Because if ONCE is never lived… We will certainly miss out on SOMETHING in life. ______ “Try Me Once!” Have you heard the whisper? I did. ONCE Upon a Time. Nine countries ago. S.